The Last Graduate picks up where A Deadly Education left off: the seniors graduated after fixing the cleansing mechanism, and El's year is now the new senior year. More importantly, El has friends and an alliance.

The tone and style are just like Lesson One: a lot of information, slow pacing, not a lot of action in the first half. I didn't expect that, so it threw me a bit. I thought the info overload was just part of the first book, which introduced the world and the Scholomance. It really does feel like we're attending lessons with El.

El is my favourite part of this series. I love her grumpiness and the resulting humour from all her interactions. Her development and shift in perspective in The Last Graduate were great.

I would have liked more El & Orion scenes, though. Especially in the first half. I didn't re-read the first book before starting this one, so all their interactions and growing attachment weren't fresh in my memory anymore.

In terms of plot I had a couple of things that didn't make sense 100%, but I really enjoyed the direction it all took, how the school became a character in its own right really.

But WARNING! There's a huge cliff-hanger. +1 year now until the next lesson...

I’m still in literal shock over that ending that words are hard to come by.
THAT ENDING?! Once again I’m in desperate need of the next book RIGHT NOW.
I have a strange relationship with this series in that I find a large part of the book rather unengaging but also… I find it compelling enough, either because of the actual writing or the strength of the plot, to continue.
I had the same issues as last time that we get such a wealth of useless info dumping while also still learning so little of actual value about other character.
El and Orions Relationship was my favourite and least favourite part of the book. I wanted them to have WAY more moments together, actually talking and getting to know one another, than they did have.
But I seriously cannot wait for book 3 and need it badly.

I absolutely love this series!
Dark and gripping, this book is excellent, to say the least. I'm really hoping there's more to come in this series. This would be perfect for YA and adult readers.

An intense and clever sequel to the first book. It’s their final year in the School of Scholmance and all is to play for. El finds herself challenged in new ways as she begins to realise that the school is targeting her in ways no other student has ever experienced and this challenge requires her to examine her own moral compass and inner truths. And now she must understand the full meaning of the warning against Orion that her mother gave her even as she denies the growing feelings she has for him. It proves to be a tough year for her and for all the members of the Scholomance.

Novik continues to unfold a very engaging and clever story told with great imagination and very complex yet captivating world building. Her characters are rich, complicated and extremely believable. I would recommend the series for adults and older YA.

It's El's final year at the Scholomance, and the deadly Graduation Ceremony is looming. Highly against her will, she has started to care about the other students, and is finding it harder and harder to stay indifferent. Her new schedule doesn't make any sense, and why does it feel like the school is specifically coming after her all of a sudden...?

Buckle up, guys, because you are not ready for how incredible this book is. Naomi Novik is on a straight track to becoming my favourite Fantasy author, and with this book she has all but secured the position.

I don't think I've ever loved two main characters as much as I love El and Orion. Every single of their interactions is just pure gold, and my only criticism is that I would like this book to be even longer, please. The narrator's tone of voice is absolutely brilliant: super entertaining and at times incredibly funny, it makes putting this book down extremely hard.

The CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT in this book!! I could shout for hours about it, but I'll leave it at completely incredible. Again, if you finished the first one and thought, surely this cannot get better - think again!

All in all, I will say: If you have ever enjoyed a fantasy book in your life, you have to pick up this series. It will bring you so much joy, (and it will bring me more people to talk about it with)!

After finishing A Deadly Education and labelling it one of the best books I've read all year, I was so excited for the sequel and so I couldn't believe it when I received an advanced copy from the publishers!

The Last Graduate picks up after the VERY exciting cliffhanger from book one. I thought the big twist would have had a little more impact on this book, but it all calmed down pretty quickly. I'm not saying that's a bad thing because I was very happy for things to go back to normal (well, as normal as you can get in a school full of children-killing-monsters).

I really like how directly the main character speaks to the reader. The story is filled with her quick and witty lines that were constantly making me laugh out loud. I love how she interacts with Orion as well. Their dialogue is my favourite thing about the writing. My only complaint is that I wish there was more of it, especially at the beginning of the book.

Overall, I don't think this book quite lives up to the first. But with A Deadly Education being such a perfect book, I can completely understand how it's hard for the sequel to live up to that. It still had all the elements that I loved, they just weren't as strong as in book one. The ending was the best part of this book and it's worth reading just for that cliffhanger! I'm excited for the next one!

The Last Graduate is the second book from Naomi Novik's 'Deadly Education' series. This time we join El in her final year at the Scholomance. This book picks up right where the last one finished off as we rejoin the wizarding school on the first day of term - unlike other schools there are no school holidays here. El is assigned classes by the school that bring her into contact with much younger students and for some reason, all the mals in the school seem to be being sent in her direction. However, El seems to be managing them with ease and has even taken to saving Orion on occasion.

The tentative alliances that El made in the last book are holding, but word is spreading among the younger students about one of the enclaves on the outside being destroyed. No one knows what is going on as news only comes from outside once a year when the new students arrive. As graduation day approaches El forms unlikely new alliances and starts daring to plan for a future outside the school - a future that she secretly hopes will include Orion.

As the book nears it's climax the stakes just keep getting higher and higher as the teens plan their escape from the school. I was beginning to wonder how so much plot was going to be packed into the last couple of chapters but Novik manages this really well. Gone are the long drawn out bits of description from the first book (there was only one occasion early in the book where El is chatting with another character and the story goes off at a tangent to give you history about something and this took so many pages that when it came back to the actual story I had to flick back to remind myself what question the other character was answering!) .

The story sweeps you to a genuinely heart stopping cliffhanger of an ending and I CANNOT WAIT to read the next book to find out what happened - what a place to leave it!!!!!!!!!

I know that this is a young adult book but I do find the language a little too colourful for my liking, however, I'm sure older teens will love this.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Overall 4.75 stars rounded up to 5

So I was blessed to receive an ARC of The Last Graduate from NetGalley and after screaming into a pillow for approximately a week I am ready to write a review so here goes. My reviews and ratings are always out of 100. Up to 30 points for plot, 5 for the ending. Up to 40 for characters and 5 for miscellaneous. And finally 20 for writing style. This review is spoiler free but will contain information on things like page time, plot speed and predictability and character development.

Plot~ The plot moved a lot more, with bigger effects from various actions in this book. It certainly didn’t suffer from second book syndrome and still kept moving forwards. There was slightly less rambling and more of a general push forward. Overall the plot was fast paced while having scenes in which you could take a breather and in so doing remind us why all this action was so vital. We really got to see the power the seniors and especially El wields in this book which was really enjoyable. We also saw more of the Scholomance functioning as a typical school which was loads of fun to read. While there was world development, there were a lot of questions from book 1 left unanswered, though this does make sense within the context of the isolated Scholomance. However we still got some outside world information right at the beginning from the incoming students. The plot also wasn’t too predictable which was nice, and there were many interesting twists and turns with enough references to ADE for the two books to still feel connected and the random ramblings in ADE to have plot relevance.
Plot gets a 28/30
The ending however gets a 3/5 because it would have been a satisfying conclusion were it not for the huge cliffhanger. Please stop writing these cliffhangers Naomi, I’m going to have a heart attack. While the cliffhanger makes it feel a tad unfinished, a problem I’ve been having with a lot of YA recently, it is a good ending otherwise.

Characters~ The characters were a real strong point in Book 1 and this certainly continues in this book. We get not only more development in relationships between characters, but more character development in general. We get introduced to plenty of new characters including El’s familiar, new freshmen and new students in El’s year. We also get to see more development and information about side characters including Aadyha, Liu, Chloe, Ibrahim, Nyoko, Cora and more. What’s really lovely about this book is that even the smallest of characters are incredibly interesting which is a huge part of what makes this book so compulsively readable. In terms of main characters, Orion gets less page time in this book but he still doesn’t lack character progression, evolving and becoming even less of a one-dimensional happy go lucky mal hunter. El goes further in her character arc she begins at the end of the first book and while she’s still the same prickly and sarcastic character, we also see more aspects of her personality. And while she narrates the book, we still get to see a fair bit of how things function outside of her through her knowledge and now less biased view of the system. Also this book does give us queer wizards which was very nice. We also got more sneak peeks into wizarding society as a whole which I really enjoyed. Overall, I give the characters 40/40.
The category of Other varies from book to book, sometimes it’s more of plot things like whether the SOC heist is good but in this book it’s the Scholomance itself. We learn a lot more about the Scholomance itself here and despite not really being a character, the Scholomance is still one of my favourite aspects of this book. It’s a three way tie between El, Orion and the Scholomance. But the Scholomance really comes alive in this book. The descriptions in ADE of course help to realise it but the development in this book really helps it feel real. Overall I’d give the Other section , which I’ve decided to dub Location, 5/5.

Writing style~ While there are a few less tangents the writing style is still the same as in ADE. In all honesty, it’s a love it or hate it kind of style and I happen to really enjoy it. The rambling feels really realistic for a POV and helps connect us to this being El, a teen who cannot really stay on task because of course her mind will wander. I really love the writing style, 19/20.

Overall 95/100. An amazing follow up to one of my favourite books of 2020. I now only ask for the third book Naomi Novik pretty please.

This is the second book in the trilogy and I didn’t think it could be better than the first, but I was wrong. This book, like the Scholomance, has a life all of its own. There are times when you read a book in this genre where you just can’t believe the imagination of the author. Naomi Novak has imagined such an incredible world, where El and her class mates survive, barely, until El comes into her own. The writing is great, the characters are growing with each page turned, maturing and real. Loved it, couldn’t have imagined the ending but am now desperate to read the next instalment. If I could give it more than 5 *I would.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I love this series! Honestly, I am so happy with the second book, especially as middle books can sometimes take a dip. Not the case with The Last Graduate.

There was lots of character development and growth with El, which was good to see. Part of actually getting older and growing up. She's still the same badass though, which I love.

I hate and loathe and detest the ending. Total cliffhanger, meaning the wait for the next book will be interminable. Can't wait to find out what happens next!

This book is beyond phenomenal, I'm honestly in love with the scholomance and Naomi Novik's talent and would recommend this forever - I'm almost mad I got the arc as I want the third one already! For sure bound to become so many peoples comfort series including myself. I'd especially recommend to those who love magic, fantasy and all the old HP fans as not only is it unique and gripping it also is unproblematic and inclusive. With a unique magic system and storyline it truly is like nothing I've ever read previously.

I don't really know how to be ok after reading this book. I loved A Deadly Education and didn't really see how it could be topped, but it most certainly has been.

The Last Graduate picks up where Education left off, and follows El through her Senior year at the Sholomance, where every moment is dedicated to finding a way out of the Graduation Hall on Graduation Day.

El really comes into her own in this book, although I must admit that at points I was a little frustrated by how little we see of some of the other characters. However, I couldn't put the book down and when I turned the final page with my heart in my throat ... I'll be thinking about this book for months. Hurry with the final book of the trilogy!

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Naomi Novik’s deliciously dark and dangerously addictive sequel picks up precisely where A Deadly Education left off.

El,now in her senior (and final) year at the Scholomance (a magic school that does it’s best to devour it’s students) and,having won herself a handful of allies the previous year,is just trying to survive long enough to graduate. But the school’s developed a very particular craving...
For her.

With the scholomance’s savage attacks ramping up, El is determined not to give in as Graduation—and the deadly ritual that leaves few students alive, looms. If she and her allies are to make it out unscathed El will need to realise that winning the game means throwing out all the rules...

I am utterly obsessed with this series, A Deadly Education was soo good I didn’t think it could possibly get any better,but boy was I wrong (and happily so.)

The vividly detailed descriptions of the Scholomance are eerily spectacular—Naomi Novik’s skill in creating such rich and atmospheric settings are demonstrated perfectly and really adds to the magically sinister, dark academia vibe.

I still very much loved El, who’s still her prickly, irascible self, though Orion’s (and to a lesser extent Aadhya and Liu’s) influence is rather apparent very early in —she’s not nearly as indifferent as she used to be (though still not someone to be messed with.)

It was also pretty great getting to see more of Aadhya,Liu,Orion and Chloe and learning more about their families, magical experiences and dynamics within El’s newly established group. Orion’s interactions and dynamics with El were particularly interesting and their chemistry together, practically smouldering at times.

I also thought the pace was a little slower at times, but only due to more detail in day to day events (which were skimmed over a little in the previous book) I didn’t really mind but, it will be a problem if you don’t like slower paced storytelling.

The ending was absolutely phenomenal,it has me on the edge of my seat. I know it’s going to be torture waiting for the next book—I desperately need to know what happens next!

If you love dark academia/YA Dark Fantasy then you absolutely have to check out this series.

Also thanks to Del Rey and NetGalley for the e-ARC.

So I’ve just finished an arc of The Last Graduate and I literally don’t know what to do with myself.

👩🏽‍🎓No spoilers review.👩🏽‍🎓

Wow. I loved A Deadly Education and I was so excited for The Last Graduate so I was delighted to get an arc to review.

And oh my god, did this book live up to my expectations! It’s an absolute ride from start to finish.

El has managed to survive to her senior year in the Scholomance, but now things are going to get really serious. She has to get through the year and prepare for graduation with her alliance, but it seems like the school has other ideas for El.

Every remaining mal in the school seems to be targeting El and only El and she’s beginning to take it a bit personally.

El has to work with her alliance and love interest/hero/pain in the arse Orion Lake to figure out how to survive graduation.

I absolutely loved The Last Graduate from start to absolutely brutal cliffhanger finish. The Scholomance is such an interesting setting, and new elements added in this book made it even more so.

The Last Graduate releases on the 28th of September and I’ve got it on pre-order for release day.

If you haven’t tried this series yet I highly recommend it for fans of Dark Academia.

I’m not sure how how I’m going to last til the next book comes out!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to @delreyuk @netgalley and @naominovik for giving me an advanced reader copy of The Last Graduate in exchange for an honest review.

I loved the previous book in the Scholomance series and the highly anticipated sequel was so worth the wait.

Flung straight back in to the journey to graduation, this book was filled with all the Mals, danger and suspense you’d expect off the back of the last book.

Upon reading, this book definitely has an addicting quality to it, a slow burn of suspense and enough excitement to keep you flicking through the pages. The plot development is so intriguing and you’re kept wondering how everything will play out.

The intricate world the book is set in can be a bit overwhelming and over facing at times, as there seems to be so much detail into the world building which is great. I love the vastness of this world! After the last book, it was nice to get to know even more about the school, it’s history and all of the enclaves too.

It was nice to be back with El’s character and follow her journey through the school, tackling the challenges she faces throughout the book. Towards the end, I really couldn’t stop reading and I was on the edge of my seat!

A book about a magical school basically trying to kill you, wizards and magic, plots and alliances with enough action and drama to keep you entertained, theres plenty in this book to enjoy. (I hope there’s more!!!)

I devoured the first book in the Scholomance series, Bad Education, and did the same with the second book. The story picks up immediately after the end of book one and once again El and her peers are shuttled into a race against time (and mals) as graduation begins to loom. The book manages to be thrilling as well as asking questions about what we really would do for others when the chips are down.
Naomi Novik writes adolescents beautifully and the wit and sarcasm of how these young people deal with the absolute worse of all high school experiences is present throughout.
(Copy received from Netgalley in return for an honest review)

Love this book, but the ending?!

I tried and tried to get into book 1 - Deadly Education - and failed about 4 times but once I did I loved it. I haven't read a Naomi Novic book I haven't loved yet (I think I was just so caught up in her other worlds the scholomonce was a huge jump).

Book 2 - The last graduate - didn't disappoint, action packed from the start you just couldn't help cheer El, Orion and their friends on.

Now to wait for book 3....

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publishers for an ARC of this book!

So I just read the first one and I immediately had to request The Last Graduate. I don't think I've ever been so excited to pick up a sequel before-and I blame Novik's cliffhanger at the end of A Deadly Education. This was so exciting and the stakes got even higher for El and her friends because it's their last year. I absolutely adored the relationship between El and Orion, and even if he didn't feature as much in this book as in the last, I still loved their dynamic and their witty banter (also the unresolved romantic tension kills me).

No spoilers but.. that ending though. Killed me. My heart absolutely fell into my throat. Am I gonna have to wait another year for that?!?! Aaagh

I enjoyed the first book, A Deadly Education, immensely, and so when I was given the chance to read a Netgalley ARC, I jumped at the chance. This book further explored the world of the scholomance with brilliant characterisation and a romping prose which made me eager to race through this book. I devoured it in less than 24 hours, staying up until 1am to finish it. The ending is both inevitable and deeply frustrating in the best way. I did feel that the pacing of the story was a little odd at times and some parts of the book felt rushed, but a thoroughly enjoyable read nonetheless. I look forward to the next sequel!

I wanted to read The Last Graduate so much that the second Netgalley approved me I abandoned the (very enjoyable) book I was reading to dive right in. Luckily I have been so busy that rather than glom the whole in a day as I wanted, it took me four days to read which, as this is NOT the second book in a duet I was expecting but rather the next in a series which means a long wait for book 3, is a very good thing. From which you can gather that this was a book well worth waiting for.

I loved A Deadly Education - the clever worldbuilding, the unique take on a school for wizards trope, El herself - and was nervously wondering if the second would live up to its predeccesor. I needn't have worried as with Naomi Novik we are in expert experienced hands and The Last Graduate delivers. El is in her final year, but she's in a very different situation to a year ago. She has actual friends, an alliance, a love interest and a chance of surviving graduation without turning into the evil sorceress her destiny predicts. There's just a few hitches; a timetable that seems to be pushing her towards said evil destiny, surviving the school itself with her precious built up stores depleted and her mother's warning to stay away from Orion Lake, hero monster killer and love interest. Meanwhile with graduation approaching outside political factions begin to simmer and El finds herself at the centre, a dangerous place to be even if you aren't at a magical school where roughly three quarters of students don't make it out alive. Add in the shock of finding herself looking after freshmen mysteriously timetabled with her and the disturbing lack of actual monsters except where she happens to be and senior year looks to be even more deadly than ever.

Fast paced, beautifully written, well plotted, tense and with a cliff hanger ending that will leave me begging shamelessly for an ARC of the next, this is a perfect sequel. Bring on the next. Quickly.